[meteorite-list] 'Plutons' Push Planet Total Up To 12--MikeBrown's view

From: Gerald Flaherty <grf2_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Aug 16 22:07:54 2006
Message-ID: <013901c6c1a1$ed938000$6402a8c0_at_Dell>

"everyday speakers of English call them, ROCKS. Doesn't
matter what they go 'round."

Priceless.
Jerry Flaherty
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sterling K. Webb" <sterling_k_webb_at_sbcglobal.net>
To: <cynapse_at_charter.net>; "Meteorite Mailing List"
<meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 7:20 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] 'Plutons' Push Planet Total Up To
12--MikeBrown's view


> Hi, Darren, List,
>
>
> SIZE:
> Two satellites, Ganymede (5262 km) and Titan (5150 km),
> are bigger than the planet Mercury (4878 km). Seven satellites
> are bigger than Pluto (2320 km): Callisto (4800 km), Io (3630 km),
> Our Moon (3474 km), Europa (3138 km) and Triton (2706 km),
> in addition to Ganymede and Titan.
>
> COMPOSITION:
> (I think) Ganymede, Callisto, Io, Europa and Triton
> (and Ceres) are "Plutonic" bodies in composition. I suspect
> Titan is also, but uniquely volatile rich (like all the Saturn
> system). The Moon is clearly just doing its own thing...
>
> NOMENCLATURE:
> Yes, many satellites are "planetary bodies," in the physical
> compositional and size sense. They are "worlds," no doubt
> about it. And I mean that literally; that's what I call'em: WORLDS.
>
> So, I organize my head thusly:
> Planetary Bodies ("Worlds") that orbit the Sun are PLANETS.
> Planetary Bodies ("Worlds") that orbit a Planet are SATELLITES.
> Bodies that are too small, too irregular to be Planets are PARKING LOTS.
>
> No, wait, that's not right! OK, try again:
> Planetary Bodies ("Worlds") that orbit the Sun are PLANETS.
> Planetary Bodies ("Worlds") that orbit a Planet are SATELLITES.
> Bodies that are planetary in composition but too small and
> too irregular to be Planets are PLANETOIDS, or as Chris'
> everyday speakers of English call them, ROCKS. Doesn't
> matter what they go 'round.
>
> I try to think ahead in shaping my definitions. I want
> them to last. It's 2258. You're living on The Moon. You're
> bored. You've done all the Lunar sports. The Lunar scenery
> is all boringly the same. Lunar society is stodgy and settled,
> way too conservative and old-fashioned (they've been there
> for like, forever.) Then you notice your neighbor clearing
> out his place, not just moving stuff or cleaning house, but
> sweating it down to the 200 kg limit for an interplanetary move.
> You are envious. He's going to the new Titan colony (no
> more vacuum suits like the Moon) or maybe Ganymede, the
> richest World in the System. You strike up a conversation,
> "Heading out for a new World, huh?" He waves his hand
> disgustedly, "Nah, I just got transferred to Vesta -- it ain't
> nothing but a Rock." Hardly any gravity, perpetual water
> shortages, a grimy industrial backwater (without the water).
> No wonder he's pissed...
> Suddenly, the Moon doesn't seem so bad. Sure, you
> learn to be careful with water, but nobody runs out. Yeah,
> the scenery is stark, but then you remember your last trip
> to that resort in the Lunar Apennines and the view down
> almost 20,000 feet to the Mare. And people on the Moon
> are basically friendly, helpful, easy-going, like one big small
> town, not sour and grim like, well, Vestans. It may be a small
> World, but it's no Rock!
>
>
> Sterling K. Webb
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Darren Garrison" <cynapse_at_charter.net>
> To: "Meteorite Mailing List" <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 4:53 PM
> Subject: [meteorite-list] 'Plutons' Push Planet Total Up To 12--
> MikeBrown's view
>
>
> "That would make Caltech researcher Mike Brown, who found 2003 UB313,
> formally
> the discoverer of the 12th planet. But he thinks it's a lousy idea.
>
> "It's flattering to be considered discoverer of the 12th planet," Brown
> said in
> a telephone interview. He applauded the committee's efforts but said the
> overall
> proposal is "a complete mess." By his count, the definition means there
> are
> already 53 known planets in our solar system, with countless more to be
> discovered.
>
> Brown and another expert said the proposal, being put forth Wednesday at
> the IAU
> General Assembly meeting in Prague, is not logical. For example, Brown
> said, it
> does not make sense to consider Ceres and Charon planets and not call our
> moon
> (which is bigger than both) a planet."
>
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14364833/
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Received on Wed 16 Aug 2006 10:07:44 PM PDT